Nurturing Reputation

Communicators know that building a solid corporate reputation could take years—and vanish overnight if the company slips up. That's why it's so important for PR pros to play long ball.

▶ Slow and Steady Wins the Reputation Race: Corporate reputation can be like the Santa Ana winds, ranging from hot to cold, depending on the prevailing temperatures in the area. There are myriad factors affecting reputation, of course, such as customer service, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and, of course, stock price. Whatever the case, it takes time to nurture corporate reputation, as indicated by corporate reputation tracked during a five-year period by brand consulting company CoreBrand. “Reputation is earned,” said Jim Gregory, CEO of CoreBrand. “It is based on what you have done and how you are perceived for what you have done.” Gregory stressed that the companies listed below have been able to improve their reputation during the last five years. The list is based on data stemming from 1000 companies tracked by CoreBrand. “Some companies, like Tyco, were rebounding off a crisis, which explains the growth, [while] others are rebounding from an industry recovery.” He added that corporate reputation can sometimes be a bit of mystery. “In some cases, the growth of reputation is hard to explain—the cause for Jacobs Engineering Group’s growth, which has grown the most in the past year, is not readily identifiable—which proves the point that sometimes you can grow your reputation by focusing on your business and doing well.”

In this 5th volume of PR News’ Book of Employee Communications, our authors cover more than 45 articles on crisis communications, social media policies, human resources collaboration, brand evangelism and more.